Consumers have got the winter blues, with confidence falling to the lowest level in eight months on rising concerns about their long term outlook.
Photo: No metadata
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index fell 6 points in July, to 116. The historical average was 120.
Consumers reported feeling slightly more pessimistic about their current financial condition and a lot more worried about their future - that measure was at its lowest point in four years.
ANZ senior economist Miles Workman said the survey, coupled with the recent fall in business confidence, highlighted risks to the economy.
"It is a bit of a warning shot. There is a possible risk here that consumers, because they are feeling a bit weary, decide to restrain their spending."
"We have a global economic backdrop that has been softening. We also saw in our business confidence survey that firms are looking to possibly reduce headcount."
Business confidence last month fell to its lowest level in nearly a year.
The ANZ Business Outlook index showed a net 44 percent of businesses expected conditions to deteriorate in the year ahead, while only a net 5 percent expected their own firm's outlook to be better.
